Conservación, intervenciones y práctica restauradora en el centro histórico de Cáceres (1850-1975)

Abstract

The old town of Cáceres has an immense cultural value, which highest recognition was to be declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1986. The present doctoral thesis analyses the changes experienced by its architectonic and urban heritage since the appearance of the conservation discipline, activity that began with the raising of the awareness of its cultural value and the need to preserve it. Through an exhaustive literature review, the investigation analyses the evolution of the maintenance of the historic city during the period between 1850 and 1975. This chronological period has been divided in three stages: a first period of peaceful coexistence (1850-1923); a conservationist period (1924-1938) and a last restoration period, unique classification exclusively applicable to the Cáceres case. Additionally, each chronological period is framed taking into account the different building typology: civil, religious and military architecture, addressing in the last chapter the urbanization process. Finally, the research raises the importance of the different agents that intervene in the development of the heritage, both private and public, which establish different perspectives, criteria and motivations to take into account when conducting intervention projects.